BY KYLE GUNN 

ST Mirren boss Oran Kearney insists his team have 11 cup finals left this season as they try to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.

The Buddies host Livingston tomorrow with the chance to close the gap on second bottom Dundee to just one point with a win.

And the Northern Irishman knows he can’t rely on results elsewhere.

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He said: "You watch the games but we’re not sitting around lighting candles and praying for other teams’ results. We are not at that stage.

"It’s not about what other teams do, it’s about us taking care of our business and that’s what we need to do on Saturday. We have 11 games left and they are all cup finals, Saturday is no different.

"It’s about making sure we get another performance of the ilk of the last couple to give ourselves a platform."

Kearney isn’t about to start any team building exercises at a crucial point in the campaign but he’s adamant that will happen on the pitch anyway.

In the last two games Saints have been level at the break and came away undefeated and the Paisley gaffer knows the longer they stay in games the better chance they have of getting something out the game.

He continued: “It’s down to performances on the pitch and the last two 90 minutes have done more than any golf or day on the drink. I’ve seen and done all that, but players coming off the back patting each other on the back builds it.

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"The jury was still out on the new players for the ones already here but I can see very quickly the acceptance. That’s going to help us. There’s a really good vibe.

“The longer you stay in the game the better. The last time we went to Hearts it was 2-0 inside 10 minutes, at Aberdeen it was two in 25 minutes. People then question the heart of the fight. There’s no fight because the game is already out of sight. Recently we’d had that ability to stay in games because we have been harder to beat. It gives you a platform to build on.”

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